Getting Neal Into Trouble
by peppe1951
Summary: Summary: Someone is out to keep Neal in trouble with his FBI handlers. Warning: Disciplining of an adult. Don't like? Don't read! Disclaimer: White Collar belongs to USA.
1. Chapter 1

**Getting Neal into Trouble**

Peppe1951

**Summary**: Someone is out to keep Neal in trouble with his FBI handlers.

**Warning:** Disciplining of an adult. Don't like? Don't read! **Disclaimer:** White Collar belongs to USA.

**Chapter 1**

It was a Thursday in the month of April and FBI Agent Jack Thompson was mad; once again he had tried to catch Agent Kimberly Anderson's attention only for her to ignore his attempt in favored of trying to catch the eye of FBI Consultant Neal Caffrey.

"Look at him…free, even if it is only on a temporary basis for the four years that he has left to serve; he's still free and not in prison like he should be for the crimes he had committed. It's just isn't fair," groused Thompson as he watched Caffrey easily interact with the female agents.

It was about that time that OPR Agent Fowler appeared and heard what Agent Thompson had said and couldn't walk on without replying, "You aren't by yourself with your felling friend. There are several of us that feel that Caffrey should experience a taste of real punishment for what he has done and that doesn't include the 'slap-on-the-wrist' form he is experiencing now."

"What are you suggesting, sir?" asked Thompson eagerly.

"At the moment nothing but I have hopes that something will come up and when it does I will get in touch with you Agent Thompson," promised Fowler as he continued on his way.

"Peter!" Hughes said as he appeared in Peter's doorway.

"Yes?"

"Where is Caffrey?"

"I've got him pulling case files for some cold cases," replied Peter, "why?"

"If he doesn't stop with those pranks of his I'm going to take an active hand in curbing them; and I'm not going to use the same method you use," Hughes stated seriously, implying that Neal would be feeling something other than a paddle to his backside.

"He's just bored…I'll try to keep him occupied so he won't have a chance to get into more trouble," assured Peter.

"You had better because it will only take one more prank to put his ass on the hot seat, if you take my meaning," Hughes promised grimly.

"I'll warn him," replied Peter as he watched his boss leave and his partner return. He noticed the look Hughes gave Neal as they passed on the way.

"What was that about?" mentioned Neal as he felt the glare Hughes had given him.

"He's tired of your pranks and has given you an ultimatum …if he even hears of another prank he's coming after you and at this point he doesn't care if you are guilty of it or not," warned Peter seriously.

"So if any of my early victims decide on getting me back I will be the one punished and not them?" asked Neal shocked.

"Yep, and I think that you can expect his 'fatherly' approach to be more serious then my way of doing things," warned Peter. "You had better hope that Lauren, Jones or any of your earlier victims have a forgiving heart and decides not to retaliate or it's your butt that will pay the price."

"Peter! You don't think that Hughes has a…?"

"No!" Peter interrupted his friend's frantic question," I think that he has a more old fashioned approach to curbing your unauthorized activities," hinted Peter as he let his fingers stray to his belt buckle.

Neal got the hint and reached for Peter's phone as he asked anxiously, "Can I borrow your phone?" all the while as he searched through his wallet looking for his Gold Credit Card.

"What for?" asked Peter suspiciously.

"So I can smooth things over between Lauren and me for that salt in the coffee prank I played on her this morning," confessed Neal.

"Go ahead," Peter said as he gave his permission and sat back to watch this frantic Neal. He watched and listened as Neal called the nearest florist and ordered a flower arrangement to be delivered ASAP for one Agent Lauren Cruz and listened as he told them verbatim how he wanted the card to read.

"Do you really think Lauren is going to accept your apology and not retaliate?" he asked amused.

"I can only hope…now what type of sports does Jones like?" Neal asked as he grilled his partner.

"Well, I know that he is a big New York Giant and Yankee fan, so you should be safe with getting him anything to do with those teams," Peter advised.

Neal picked up a piece of printer's paper and wrote quickly on it before turning to Peter and asking, "How does this sound? Agent Jones I wish to make amends for the prank I played on you yesterday and as soon as the tickets become available I will purchase two of fifty yard tickets for the first home game of the New York Giants?"

"Sounds great and I'm sure he will love them but are you going to explain why all of the sudden you feel the urge to apologize in such a manner?"

"No…should I?" Neal asked but noticing that Peter wasn't listening to him at the moment turned to see what had caught his eye…he was starring at Agent Hughes as he took a sip from his coffee…and like Peter noticed the expression just now coming to the older agent's face.

"Neal…you didn't have something to do with that, did you?" asked Peter suddenly.

"Oh, no…I forgot," cried Neal as he bolted from his chair and ran to the lounge just as Hughes roared,

"CAFFREY!" as he followed behind him, slamming the door behind then.

"You've done it this time Neal," Peter said quietly as he began to

wait for his partner's return.

While Neal was trying to explain his actions Fowler was reviewing the conversations from the bug he had hidden in Burke's office by one of his flunkies. He had hidden the bug in one of the may files lying about Burke's office.

Now while Fowler didn't have a clue to how Peter kept Neal in line he did understand that the pranks Neal had been doing had finally sent Hughes on the warpath; so he felt that anything he could do to land Neal in more trouble would only help him in the long run and may just get Caffrey to hand over the music box. "This is going to be payback for your interference in getting my pocket judge canned and preventing me from getting Burke fired," and with that in mind he picked up his phone to call Agent Thompson.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"You want me to put salt in the coffee pot so that Caffrey will be blamed? "But I think he's already done that from the reaction Hughes just gave a few minutes ago," Thompson quickly informed the OPR agent. "They are still in the lounge and Hughes wasn't happy as he slammed the door behind them."

"Oh, then do whatever it takes to keep Caffrey in trouble with Hughes. I'm sure that a clever agent like you can come of with something to assure that Caffrey stays in trouble with Hughes…but keep me informed on what happens next with Caffrey."

"Yes sir," responded Thompson as he continued to watch the lounge for any developments.

"This maybe just the thing to get Caffrey back behind bars where he's he can be persuaded more easily into anything I like," Fowler muttered to himself. "That music box is nearly in my hands," he thought gleefully.

"I don't know what Hughes has in mind that makes Caffrey so anxious about displeasing him but I'm willing to do anything that will keep him in that hot seat Hughes mentioned to Burke."

Back in the lounge Neal was desperately trying to keep his tail intact as he explained how Hughes inadvertently got caught in one of his pranks.

"Oh, sir, I meant to fix that," cried Neal as he hurried to empty the sugar dispenser of the salt he had switched only thirty minutes ago, "but I was delayed."

Hughes quickly emptied his coffee and stalked over to Neal to ask, "and why were you delayed?" he asked menacingly.

"Peter told me your ultimatum and that if any of my victims decided to retaliate I would not only be blamed but punished and at your hand. I was trying to smooth things with them to keep that from happening," he explained hastily.

Hughes considered his statement before coming to a conclusion. "I was going to wear my belt out on your butt but after considering your words I'm going to use another form of punishment that my father found useful on me; I want you to write five hundred times, 'I will not play pranks at work again,' and I want it before the day's end or I will double it and give you a taste of my belt before you leave…understand?"

"Yes, sir…it won't happen again," promised the reformed con man.

"See that you don't but if another prank graces this unit I will make good my threat and wear your ass out.

Neal nodded as he shakily left the lounge and hurried to Peter's office.

"So what did Hughes do to you…obviously he didn't follow through with his threat?" asked Peter curiously. Neal was showing no signs of having had his butt beat.

"He gave me lines to write…made me feel like I was back in grammar school; so if you don't have anything pressing for me to do, can I go and start on them?" asked Neal pleadingly.

"When do you have to have them in by?"

"Before I leave for the night," explained Neal.

"And if you aren't finished?"

"Then he will carry out his threat plus double them to be handed in tomorrow morning," replied Neal grudgingly.

"How many lines?" asked Peter as he teased his 'kid brother' a bit by making him wait.

"500! Now can I go?"

"Yeah, but don't forget you also promised El you will come home for lunch," reminded Peter as he gave his permission and watched as Neal scurried to his desk to begin his punishment to the amusement of Peter and Hughes, who was watching from above.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Fowler was even more curious than before…what was it that Hughes had Caffrey doing that called for him to do it 500 times and if it wasn't done before he left he would have to do it twice as many more times plus the carrying out of some threat. He hoped that Thompson would soon be checking up on Caffrey and informing him of what it was all about.

As soon as Thompson hung up with Fowler he got up and passed by Caffrey's desk on his way out of the department and casually glanced around to see what Neal was doing. He was shocked to see that he was only writing lines; something that a schoolboy would be required to do if he misbehaved during class. He hurried on out to place his call to Fowler. "Sir, I think I have found out what Caffrey has to do five hundred times," began Thompson.

"What?"

"He's writing lines stating 'I will not play pranks at work again' and I think that he has to write those lines five hundred times before he has to leave today or else," explained Thompson, "although I do not know what the or else is."

"Just take one page of his lines and you can find out when Hughes counts them and discovers he hasn't completed his punishment," replied Fowler.

"Or I could borrow one and make photocopies of them and then turn the photocopies in to take the place of some of his lines. Hughes will think that he is trying to pull a fast one and won't be happy with the deceit," suggested Thompson.

"Do it…that sounds even better…and you are right Hughes will decide that Caffrey is trying to deceive him and maybe we can learn what the threat will be…keep me informed on what you learn," Fowler said before hanging up.

Thompson hung up and returned to carry out his plan to keep Caffrey is trouble. This was going to be fun; it seemed to Thompson that Caffrey had once again talked himself out of any real punishment and now he was in the position to see that Caffrey suffered this time.

He watched Neal for the remainder of the morning waiting for the moment he could 'borrow' one page of his punishment and photocopy it and that came just before lunch when Neal suddenly got up to go to the restroom and he hurried as casually as he could to Neal's desk and grabbed the top sheet of the finished pages and hurried to the nearest photocopier and made his print. He had barely replaced the original page when Neal casually reappeared around the corner.

Neal stayed at his desk until Peter came down to collect him before they left for lunch. Neal was careful to pick up his finished copies and follow Peter from the building. He was taking no chances of misplacing any before it was time to turn them in. He was nearly finished and only had a few more to do and felt he could have them finished before it was time to leave for the day.

"Thanks for the lunch invite Elizabeth," greeted Neal as he walked in behind Peter.

"You are so welcome, Neal," replied El and then as she noticed the papers in his hand asked, "what's that?"

When Neal didn't answer right away she turned to Peter for an answer. He said laughingly, "That's the punishment Hughes gave him for his prank playing…Hughes got pranked by the salt in the sugar dispenser that Neal was responsible for. I think it was only by his fast talking that saved his ass…literally."

"Neal! You are lucky he didn't throw you back in prison for that!" exclaimed Elizabeth as she swatted him on the arm. "So what did he do to you?"

"He told me to write "'I will not play pranks at work again" five hundred times and to have them ready for him by the day's end," explained Neal grudgingly.

"Tell her the rest of it," ordered Peter sternly.

"If the lines don't equal five hundred I will have to write it a thousand times and he'll give me a 'taste of his belt' to boot," added Neal embarrassment flooding his face.

"And I dare say you won't try pranking anyone again…after all of this," stated El as she began to bring out dishes.

"He had better hope that none of his victims try to retaliate or he will 'taste Hughes' belt' "added Peter.

"Oh, why?" asked El.

"Because Hughes told him that he would take it out on Neal's butt…he started it and now he will be punished for any retaliation. In fact if he hadn't been so busy apologizing to Lauren and Jones he might have remembered about the sugar/salt prank and fixed it before Hughes got caught up in it….he sent Lauren flowers along with is apology note and was in the process of sending Jones something when the prank fiasco struck," Peter explained.

"Oh, Neal," cried Elizabeth sympathetically as she motioned for Neal and Peter to join her at the table.

They made small talk during lunch as Neal thought over everything that had led to what had happened to him that day and vowed to do better in the future…but he had been so bored at work and that had forced him to try and liven things up a bit, "I'll have to be more careful in the future," he thought to himself as El asked,

"What cases are you working on?"

"It's pretty quiet case wise, El," replied Peter, "we are going through cold cases at the moment until something comes our way…which I hope will be soon so Neal can focus on it instead of how to prank someone."

"Don't worry Peter, I'm all pranked out…especially now after writing all of those line," quipped Neal as he began to massage his hand.

"Just remember that buddy boy the next time you get bored," cautioned Peter as he went back for seconds.

Neal nodded glumly as he finished his lunch and retired to the couch until it was time to leave.

While Neal and Peter were away at lunch Thompson took advantage of the copy machine and made several copies of the written lines ready to be inserted before Neal handed the finished punishment into Hughes. He figured that when asserted Neal wouldn't even notice that they weren't copies. He would be counting pages not checking each individually to be sure that they were his handwritten pages. He would love to see the expression on Neal's face when he learned the truth…too bad there wasn't a video recorder in Hughes office so they could see the incident unfold….but I will just have to be satisfied that he won't be able to talk his way out of this one and get the punishment he deserved.

The afternoon went speedily by as Neal returned to his lines and Peter back to his office in search of a case that would interest his partner…and once again Thompson was able to insert the copied pages for their original ones when Neal visited the restroom towards the end of the day and wait for the explosion to take place.

Neal was a bit anxious at the end to the day as he counted for the last time the pages containing the punishment lines. There should be ten pages with the punishment statement written twice on a line and that equaled five hundred times and to make sure that he didn't miscount Neal had written an extra page.

"Are you ready?" asked Peter as approached Neal's desk.

"Yeah," replied Neal as he rubbed his right hand. "Time for me to hand them in and then I can put this all behind me," he added as he straightened up his pages and started up the stairs to hand them in to Hughes.

"Sir," cried Neal as he approached Hughes' open door. "I'm finished…here," he said as he placed the papers in front of Hughes.

Hughes picked up the pages and motioned for Neal to have a seat. He then picked up the pages and began to check them out his face not giving Neal a sign of what he was feeling and that alone unnerved him. Neal waited until Hughes had laid the last page down before standing as to leave only to hear,

"STOP! You were told to write 'I will not play pranks at work again' five hundred times!"

"Yes, sir… and that is what I've done," argued Neal as he motioned to the pages on Hughes' desk.

"No what you have done is write a few pages and then copied them and inserted them in with your punishment lines…that Mr. Caffrey is cheating in my book," exclaimed Peter.

"What!?" Neal cried as he picked up the pages and checked out what Hughes was saying. "NO! NO! I don't know how these got in there…I didn't do it," cried Neal frantically.

Hughes suddenly stood up and walked to the door and said, "Caffrey! Follow me, we will take this someplace a bit more private," and waited as Caffrey reluctantly followed him from the room and into a supply room down the hall.

As soon as Neal entered the supply room Hughes closed the door and faced him. "Neal there's got to be consequences for your actions or activities and the same goes for when an activity isn't completed. You were warned that there would be an unpleasant consequence if you didn't hand in your five hundred handwritten lines and you are about to experience that unpleasantness now," Hughes explained as he began to unbuckle his belt.

Neal backed up a step at the action. "But I did write all five hundred lines; I don't know what happened to the pages I wrote…you've got to believe me," he cried emphatically.

Hughes looked at him weighing what Neal has said with the pages in his hand before sighing, "If you did them then why aren't they in the stack you just turned in? Did you check them before you turned them in?"

"I don't know ad all I did was to count the pages to be sure I had them all…the right amount of pages that is. I just assumed that they were all of the ones that I handwritten," Neal replied earnestly.

"Well, if you didn't add the copied pages then it must be payback from one of the people you pranked earlier…and what did I tell you about that?"

"That I would be punished for any payback," Neal replied pitifully as he eyed Hughes and the belt in his hands.

Hughes could read the regret in Caffrey's eyes and decided to give him one more chance. "Look, I'll over look it this time but this is your last warning…any more tomfoolery and you will be paying the price…starting tomorrow you and Peter had better find something to work on or else," and with that he replaced his belt and left Neal to thank his lucky stars.

As soon as Hughes left Peter poked his head in to see what shape his partner was in. He expected to find Neal in bad shape and was pleasantly surprised to find him in fairly good spirits. "Hughes didn't punish you?" he asked assuming that it was the reason Hughes had brought Neal to the supply room.

"Nope, I guess I convinced him of my innocence," replied Neal happily.

"Innocent of what Neal?" asked Peter interestedly.

"It seems that someone somehow obtained one of my handwritten pages and made several copies of it and substituted them for the handwritten ones. When Hughes found them he accused me of cheating and ordered me to accompany him here," Neal explained.

"Neal…you know better than to try something that stupid…you knew Hughes would check the pages carefully," accused Peter.

"I didn't do it Peter…I swear I didn't. I told that to Hughes and he believed me although he did warn me that if there was any more tomfoolery in the office I would be the one he would come after…what is with it with you two…with the using of shenigans and tomfoolery…haven't you two ever thought of using more modern words for mischief," regressed Neal as he explained.

"Stay focused Neal. You are lucky you convinced Hughes and you won't be the next time. So who does Hughes think did it?"

"He called it payback but I can't think that Jones or Lauren would do something like that to me," informed Neal.

"They might if they thought that all Hughes would do was to yell at you; if they knew that Hughes was going to take his belt to you I doubt very much that they would have done anything to get you in that kind of trouble…you might have an enemy here out to keep you in trouble," Peter said as he voiced his thoughts.

"I've got to be careful until we discover who it might be," replied Neal as he and Peter walked out together unaware that they were being observed by Agent Thompson who was trying to figure out what didn't happen since it was quite obvious to him that Neal must not have been punished seeing him smiling as he left the office with Agent Burke.

"Damn!" thought Thompson as he watched them leave. "I've got to try harder next time," he added as he gathered his stuff on his way home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As soon as Peter and Neal entered the office Thursday morning Hughes sent for the agent, leaving Neal to sit at his desk and look busy. He didn't want a repeat performance of the previous day so he absently picked up a case file he had been looking at the day before and decided to read it over.

It was while he was reading that Agent Thompson walked in and took his seat a few desks over and waited for an opportunity to get Neal into trouble.

He didn't have long to wait when he too wAs summoned to Hughes office.

"Agent Thompson, you know Peter?" introduced Hughes to his senior agent.

"Yes, sir, Agent Burke's reputation precedes himself with the capture of so many white collar criminals the most current one sitting down there," replied Thompson as he made reference to Caffrey.

"You are new to the White Collar division and I thought with this lull of activity it would be the perfect time for Peter to show you around and teach you some of his techniques for solving the crimes and with Neal presently inactive he can also school you on some of his techniques…lets call them short cuts," explained Hughes.

Although Thompson was less thrilled at Neal teaching him anything he was delighted at the chance of setting him up. With working so close to the

ex-con he knew he would succeed in the task that Agent Fowler originally gave him. "Yes sir, I can't wait," he replied with false eagerness.

"Peter he's all yours," Hughes said before he dismissed the two.

Peter nodded and led him to his office where he called Neal to come up. As soon as Neal arrived Peter introduced the two and proceeded to fill Neal in on their task.

Thompson knew that if he was to set Neal up it would take longer than a day so he proceeded to pay attention and be the perfect agent for as long as it took to gain Peter and Hughes' trust…and that took about two weeks. During that time he had been patient and had listened to all Caffrey had to say being respectful to both Peter and Neal…he got so good at it that they both were fooled.

(Two weeks later)

On the way in to work Monday morning Peter told Neal, "You'll be with Agent Thompson today…I'm got to testify today. I'll probably be there all day. I expect you to obey Jack as if it was me," Peter said seriously.

"Peter! You don't have to worry; I'll be good," assured Neal as they stopped at his desk and waited for Jack Thompson to appear.

"Jack," called Peter as Thompson approached, "I've got to be in court today; Neal's your responsibility for the day. He knows not to give you a hard time," Peter informed the agent as he gave Neal a pointed look that Neal promptly ignored.

Thompson and Neal watched Peter leave before they returned to their desk and the work at hand. Neal was working through a stack of cold cases in hopes of finding something interesting while Thompson was working on his scene to get Neal into trouble.

He had a plan; he had spent the majority of the night thinking it out before deciding that it would be his best attempt. He had been racking his brain for any idea he could use and remembered when Neal had picked his pocket. It was through hindsight that he realized that he had challenged the ex-con into picking his pocket. Neal had been introduced to him and Jones had teasingly remarked about Neal's remarkable ability for picking pockets…and that he didn't just pick a pocket he also on occasion would leave one in its place. Jack had scoffed at Neal's talent and had thus challenged him…he realized it now. However he hadn't been too happy when Neal had not only picked his pocket, something he hadn't even felt but had left one in its place and then had revealed it publicly. He had been mad and now he was going to get his payback.

Thompson was going to set Neal up in the same way he had when he had planted the copies in the punishment lines that should have gotten him in trouble…all he had to do is wait until Neal left his desk and then plant his wallet for Neal to find…and when that happen he would spring. First he waited until Neal got up to use the restroom about mid morning; as soon as Neal left his desk area Thompson got up and planted his wallet in Neal's overcoat before returning to his desk.

Thompson had to wait until Neal was ready to go to lunch, got up and put on his overcoat and then timed his approach so that Neal bumped into him as Jones walked by and was a witness to the incident so when he needed him he would be ready.

Neal hadn't even noticed the bump, it was so slight and occurred often as agents hurried off to lunch or cases; he had only walked on and to his favorite restaurant for a quick lunch.

"Neal!"

Neal turned at the shout and was delighted to see his partner and friend, Peter walking towards him. "Peter! Are you finished testifying for the day?" he asked hopefully. He missed Peter, even though he would never admit it.

"Nope…got to be back in an hour…I thought we could have lunch together," asked Peter.

"That would be great," and the two went to Neal's favorite.

"So how has your day been so far?" asked Peter as he took a bite from his entree.

"I've been good…bored but good," Neal said assuring his friend.

"So what have you been doing?"

"Looking over some cold cases and staying out Hughes way. I don't want to give him any excuse to carry out his threat," Neal said firmly.

"Good…I should be back before five," assured Peters as they continued their small talk. All too soon Peter looked at his watch and said, "I've got to go…I'll see you later…and remember…Behave!"

Neal nodded and watched him go before reluctantly getting up to return to his desk and those boring cold cases. He was totally unprepared when Jones and Lauren met him at the door and ushered him inside.

"What's up?" he asked nervously.

"Hughes orders…intercept you and escort you to his office," replied Jones concerned.

"What did you do…He's furious at you?" added Lauren.

Neal gave her a surprised look and said, "I have no idea…I've haven't done anything but sit at my desk and look over those files."

"CAFFREY! GET YOUR ASS UP HERE NOW!" roared Hughes as soon as they walked in to the White Collar Unit.

Jones and Lauren watched as Neal hurried to Hughes office looking confused and a bit scared.

The first person Neal saw upon entering Hughes office was Thompson who looked mad. "Y-You wanted me?" he asked uncertainly.

"Where is my wallet, Neal?" asked Thompson angrily.

"Why are you asking me…I don't have it," replied Neal.

"You bumped into me before I left; you must have lifted my wallet then," accused Thompson.

"Why would I take your wallet," asked Neal.

"I asked myself that when you did it earlier even after Peter told you not to even think about it. I admit that I didn't believe it when Jones told me of your expertise at picking pockets but that was no reason to actually do it and then embarrass me when you publicly gave it back. I guess you were too bored this morning and decided to try it again," Thompson accused.

"YOU PICKED HIS POCKET BEFORE NOW!" shouted Hughes.

"I picked it earlier but not this time; and I was just making a point," Neal said as he tried to defend himself. "He challenged me by stating that he didn't believe I could do it."

"Did Peter tell you not to?" asked Hughes.

"Yes."

"Did he," began Hughes before stopping himself from actually finishing the statement.

"No," whispered Neal, "he didn't know that I had done it; I didn't tell him."

"Well, he's going to find out about it this time…for both offenses," Hughes assured him grimly.

"But I didn't do it the second time," cried Neal.

"If that is the case, empty your pockets," ordered Hughes.

Neal put his hands in his trouser pants and pulled out keys and some loose change. He pulled out a wallet from his suit pocket as well as a handkerchief from his breast pocket. Hughes picked up the wallet and confirmed that it was Neal's before ordering,

"Empty your overcoat pockets, too!"

As soon as Neal put his hands in his coat pockets he knew he had been set up as he pulled out another wallet. "I don't know how that got in there," he immediately said as Hughes picked it up and identified it as belonging to Agent Thompson.

"Agent Jones was a witness to the act," Thompson added as the final nail was hammered down.

Neal turned up and looked at Thompson and then Hughes in panic, "I didn't do it!"

Hughes went to his desk and called Jones to join them which he did a moment later. "You wanted me?"

"Agent Jones did you witness an alteration between Caffrey and Thompson this morning before leaving for lunch?" asked Hughes.

"If you mean when Neal bumped into Thompson?" asked Jones.

"I think you just answered my question…did it look like Caffrey did it on purpose?"

"No, I assumed that it was just the normal comings and goings at lunch time; this goes on a lot as agents are coming and going at noon," replied Jones.

"Could you see where Neal made contact with Thompson?"

Jones thought for a moment as he replayed the incident before reluctantly replying, "He made contact up high," he replied as he touched his breast pocket of his suit. "Sorry Neal."

"You can go…thanks," dismissed Hughes.

Jones nodded and left taking out his cellphone as he left.

"Agent Thompson, you can leave us now; I will handle this; thanks for bringing it to my attention. I assure you he will be severely punished," dismissing the agent as Hughes glared at Neal.

"So you decided to try it one more time… another prank on the new guy," accused Hughes. "This time there will be no reprieve. I'll leave Peter to handle the earlier alteration but this time you belong to me."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As soon s he was out of Hughes' office Jones placed a call to his Department Head, Peter Burke. Fortunately Peter had his phone set for vibration and he was able to slip out of the courthouse unseen.

"Burke," he replied.

"Peter, if you're able to leave, you need to get back here quickly. Agent Thompson has just accused Neal of picking his pocket and has brought it to the attention of Hughes…they are grilling him about it now," reported Jones.

"What!? I told Neal to behave," began Peter only to be interrupted by Jones,

"Neal says that he didn't do it and he's quite adamant about it but the evidence is just too damning at the moment. I had to report what I saw before Neal left for lunch. He bumped into Thompson pretty much the way he does when he is picking pockets…I've seen him in action before…remember?"

"Yeah, when he picked mine," recalled Peter, "but he still says he's innocent?"

"Yes, this time, that is…look I don't want to say anything else…you need to hear it from him or Hughes," insisted Jones.

"I just testified for the last time and was just waiting to see how it ended but there is no reason for me to stay. I'll be back as quickly as I can…thanks, Jones," replied Peter before hanging up and running to his car. He made it back to his office in record time and hurried to Hughes' office where he saw Neal sitting miserably as Hughes was bawling him out.

"Sir," interrupted Peter as he walked in.

"Peter," cried Neal as his friend and handler walked in.

"Burke," acknowledged Hughes. "Caffrey has something he has to tell you, that he should have told you about earlier," he added as he sat back down behind his desk.

"Neal?"

"Do you remember when Agent Thompson first arrived and he was teasing me about my claim of being able to not only pick someone's pocket but to also leave a wallet in its place," began Neal quietly.

"Yes," replied Peter not liking where this was going.

"Do you remember telling me not to even think about showing Thompson my skill," Neal delicately wording it.

"Yes."

"Well, I thought about it," began Neal only to be interrupted by Peter who said,

"You didn't?"

"I did."

"NEAL! You know what I told you the last time?"

Neal nodded…."that's why I didn't tell you," he added in a whisper.

"I'll take care of you tonight for that…but why is he reporting it now when it happened two weeks ago," asked a puzzled Peter.

"Because Caffrey did it again and when Thompson reported it he mentioned that It had happened before," Hughes said sternly.

"I didn't do it," cried Neal, "I admit to doing it the first time, but I swear that I didn't do it this time."

Peter looked into Neal's eyes believing his statement but also knowing Caffrey's other skill of lying with the same skill as he showed in everything he did…that was what made him such a great con artist…his skill at lying so convincingly.

"What evidence do you have that Neal picked Jack's pocket?" asked Peter.

"Thompson's and Jones' testimonies at what they saw and what Thompson felt and the fact that Thompson's wallet was found in Neal's overcoat," Hughes said seriously. "I'm sorry Peter in my book he's guilty and has to be punished…so either you do it tonight when you handle his other correction or I will in the supply room now….and I won't be talked out of it this time," he added sternly.

Peter nodded and said, "Come on Neal; you've left me no other choice." He left with Neal following glumly behind. He held his arguments until they had reached Peter's office.

"Peter I didn't do this…"

"My hands are tied…I have no other choice. You heard Hughes, either I handle it or he will and trust me his way carries a far greater hurt than mine will," argued Peter.

"That's a matter of opinion," groused Neal as he sat down woefully, while it was still safe to do so.

Peter was about to respond when his phone rang and he hurried to answer it. As soon as he realized who was on the other end he covered the receiver and hissed at Neal.

"I'll meet you at your desk," he said as he motioned for Neal to leave.

The last thing Neal heard was, "Yes, sir," and realized that he was talking to Hughes and made a hasty exit.

"Sir, I just don't believe that Neal would do something like that not after I caught him in the act…trust me when I finished with him he promised he wouldn't ever do it again…no, I didn't actually believe that he was going to keep that promise but I can't believe that he would do it here with so many witnesses around. It would be stupid and Neal isn't stupid…if he's going to pull anything you can be sure he has thought it out completely and this seems to be something that happened on the spur of the moment…the final line is that I believe him when he says that he didn't do it…I would stake my career on it sir," Burke continued to plea his case for Neal. He listened a few minutes more before hanging up with a dejected "Yes, sir."

All the while why Peter was talking with Hughes Neal was waiting at his desk with his eyes focused on his partner. He was hoping that Peter had been successful in pleading his case with Hughes otherwise he wasn't going to be sitting comfortably for some time. He brightened up as Jones came by and gave his a sympathetically pat on the back before moving on to his desk.

"Neal, gather your stuff we have the rest of the afternoon off. We have something to discuss and I thought we would handle it now…Hughes has approved it," began Peter as he was interrupted by Thompson who had walked up to the agent while he was talking with Neal.

"Peter can I have a word with you?"

"Can't it wait until tomorrow, Jack," replied Peter, "Neal and I are fixing to leave."

"It will only take a moment…please Peter," pleaded Thompson.

"Come on then…I'll be right back Neal," replied Peter as he lead the way to a quiet area of the office.

After a moment of silence while Peter looked impatiently at Thompson Jack said, "I just wanted you to know that I didn't accuse Neal because I wanted to get him in trouble; its just after the last time I thought that picking on me as the new guy was over. I didn't appreciate having my wallet picked just before I was to go to lunch," lied Jack. "It's no fun to be unable to pay for your meal due to a prank a coworker decided to play. I had to count the loose change in my car to pay for my sandwich," Jack said as he embellished his story.

"Neal said that he didn't do it, Jack," replied Peter.

"Then how do you explain that my wallet was found in his coat pocket?" he asked as he faked his outrage.

"I can't and neither can Neal. He's too good a pick pocket to have his pocket picked and not be aware of it," Peter added as he thought out loud.

"Exactly," replied Jack as he thought that Peter was agreeing with him but Peter was only trying to reason it out. Even though he couldn't explain it he still believed his partner when he said he was innocent.

"Well, that is all I have to say…I hope Neal won't hold this against me…I never meant for him to get in trouble on to stop with his pranks," assured Jack as he walked away.

Peter watched him leave before he returned to Neal's side and said, "Are you ready?" and at Neal's nod added, "Then let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Where are we going?" asked Neal as Peter got into the car.

"Home, to carry on our discussion in private," replied Peter simply.

"To your house?"

"Yep, unless you rather we go to June's."

"I rather we not discuss it at all," replied Neal morosely.

"And whose fault is that," replied Peter. "If you had only come cleaned about it then it would have been taken care of and we wouldn't have it to deal with now."

"If I had told you then you would have spanked me," argued Neal.

"Which is about to happen anyhow once we get home…but it would be over with and now you have it plus whatever Hughes decides to do hanging over you," Peter explained.

"I thought you were going to handle it," asked Neal confused.

"That was what the second phone call was about; Hughes didn't want me to have to do it especially since I was so adamant about you being innocent on the present charge. He's going to review all the evidence and then decide on a plan of action tomorrow," Peter explained gently.

"You do believe me?"

"Yes, although I wished you had told me about your picking Thompson's pocket when it had happened; it would have been nice to tell Hughes that I knew about it and it has already been taken care of. The way it came out made it seem that I was unaware of what you do and that maybe you didn't trust me enough to take care of you…and I don't mean as a disciplinarian," explained Peter as he looked Neal in the face.

"I'm sorry Peter…I should have trusted you; this is all still new to me to stay on the straight and narrow…I've been doing it my way for so long that it is hard to change."

"That's okay, kid; but now why would Jack want to set you up like this…I thought you two were getting along real well."

"I don't know, I thought we were too. I guess my picking his pocket bothered him more than I thought," admitted Neal.

"But if that was the case why didn't he report it to me or Hughes…now he had something other than that in mind. It's like he wanted you to get in trouble," thought Peter out loud and then as a light bulb came on he added, "I bet he's the one that tampered with your lines; so when you were able to talk your way out of the punishment Hughes had in mind he had to think of something else…that's when he hatched this one. He had to have planted his wallet in your overcoat while you were away from your desk and then all he had to accuse you of taking it knowing that when it was found in your coat it would be the evidence he needed to convict you of taking it. The bump that Jones admitted on seeing…did you initiate it or did he?"

"Peter if I bumped in to him it was purely by accident; I was only in a hurry to get to lunch; I didn't even pay any attention to who it was," replied Neal. "Will it be enough to keep me out of hot water with Hughes?"

"Probably not…we have no evidence to prove it. You might have to cowboy up and take it from Hughes tomorrow. Was there anything that Jack said that can be checked out?"

Neal thought over the conversation he had in Hughes' office where he had been accused but nothing out of the ordinary came to him and he had to reply with a "no nothing."

"Maybe something will occur to one of us tonight and then we will have evidence to present to Hughes and save your tail, and I mean that literally. But now we are home and El hasn't arrived; its time we took care of your earlier indiscretion before she returns home," Peter stated as he brought the car to a stop and parked it out front.

Neal only nodded glumly and followed Peter into his home and on to the kitchen table where he slowly bent over. Peter walked in afterwards carrying one of the paddles…the flexible one and said, "Loose the pants, this is your second offense," he ordered.

Neal nodded quietly and loosed his trousers and let them fall gracefully to his ankles as he once again got into position. "Neal if I have to punish you for this a third time you will be receiving it bare…understand?"

Once again Neal nodded as he grasped the edges of the table tightly and waited for the inevitable to occur. Peter didn't let him wait long before he brought the paddle down hard on the center of his buttocks following it twice more with just as much force as the first.

Neal gasped at the harshness of the three licks and started to yelp with each additional lick Peter rained down on his backside. Peter gave him a total of twenty licks to his backside before pausing and aiming a bit lower catching Neal on his sit spots eight more times before throwing the paddle onto the kitchen table and backing away; leaving Neal time to get control of his emotions as he wiped the tears from his face with his shirt tail.

Neal gasped out loud as he bent down to grab his trousers and pull them back up. The pain of bending over had caught him unaware as he turned to face Peter once again. "I-I'm sorry, P-Peter," he began to say only to be pulled into Peter's arms for a forgiving hug.

"That's okay, kid; I know this is hard for you to do…I guess I can't expect a leopard to change his spots overnight…just next time tell me about it and not wait and let Hughes do it…I had to be rougher on you because it was Hughes who told me and not you. Why don't you go to your room and rest; I'll call you for supper," Peter said with a smile as he pushed Neal towards the stairs.

The guest room had long ago been change to being Neal's soon after he had been released from prison. Peter just felt so responsible for him much like a father or older brother did and took it upon himself to look after the younger man. Neal seemed to spend as much time at the Burke's as he did at June's that El had officially told him that the spare room was now his…something that came in handy especially after one of Peter's "discussions."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

During the ride to work the next morning Neal was still uncomfortable and squirmed in his seat. "You might want to play that up a bit more whenever Hughes is watching; maybe we can fool him into believing that you have been punished enough," suggested Peter with a smile.

"So I take it that nothing occurred to you during the night to save me," asked Neal.

"Nope…and you?" Peter asked in return.

"No…so what do I do. I don't like being punished for something I do this is going to be so much worse since I didn't do it and only you believe me," sulked Neal. "Maybe I can call in sick?" he asked hopefully.

"Won't work…if Hughes is set on punishing you he will only wait until you return to carry it out. Sorry buddy, but it looks like you are going to have to cowboy up and take it…I'm sure with all of the crimes you have done and were never caught at this is poetic justice," replied Peter.

"That's not helping, Peter."

They were still discussing it as they walked into the White Collar Crimes department where Neal gingerly sat at his desk and Peter settled in his office. Hughes hadn't made an appearance yet. Neal didn't know whether to be happy or sad. If he was going to get punished he guessed he rather get it over with then to have to wait for it as he did as a child.

It was mid morning before Hughes arrived and stopped at Neal's desk to say, "If you would please accompany me, we can get this over with," and left with Neal following dejectedly behind. He looked up to find Pete looking sympathetically down at him knowing that there was no way he would talk his way out of punishment this time.

Peter restlessly got up and stalked over to the snack dispenser and fished around in his pocket for loose change when it hit him about something Jack had said the day before. He had to hunt down the loose change in is car to pay for his meal since Neal had supposedly stolen his wallet and he had been unable to pay. "I wonder if that is what actually happened and hurried to Jones' desk to ask."

"Jones, do you know where Jack had lunch yesterday?" Peter asked hurriedly.

"Nope, but ask Lauren, he asked her out for lunch…she could tell you where they went," Jones replied.

Peter nodded as he hurried to Lauren's desk to ask, "I need to ask you something about your lunch date yesterday?"

"What is it boss?" replied Lauren.

"You know that Jack accused Caffrey of picking his pocket yesterday?" he began and Lauren nodded.

"I believe Neal when he said he didn't do it…only all of the evidence seems to say otherwise. When Jack was trying to explain the reasoning behind accusing Neal he said that he didn't discover his wallet missing until it came to paying for his meal. He aid that he was forced to look for any loose change so he could pay for his sandwich. Is that the truth or was he lying?"

"He's lying, boss. When the check came he took out his wallet and paid with cash. He made me mad that I almost walked out of the restaurant…he bad mouthed Neal nearly the whole time. I know Neal can be a handful but he is trying to change. You know it is one thing when we tease him but what Jack was doing wasn't teasing it was character assassination."

"Would you be willing to tell Hughes that?

"Sure," replied Lauren.

"Would you mind waiting for me in my office…I've got to stop Hughes from making a terrible mistake," he added as he ran to the supply room and bust in. What he saw caused him to grab Hughes by the arm and forcefully stop the action. Neal was once again bent over the supply table in obvious distress. "Sorry I couldn't get here sooner Neal," he said as he turned to his boss and added,

"I got evidence that might be enough to keep you from continuing."

"What is it Burke?"

"Can you come with me sir," asked Peter as he motioned for his boss to accompany him outside of Neal's hearing. Once they were outside of the room Peter explained,

"Yesterday Jack approached me to tell me why he reported Neal for stealing his wallet. He told me that when he had discovered the theft it had been after he had eaten and hadn't had his wallet to pay for his meal. He said that he had to search through his car for any loose change so he could pay for it. I found out that he and Agent Cruz had lunch that day and she said that he paid for their lunch with cash that he took from his wallet. I think he planted a wallet with some of his identification in it in Neal's overcoat and waited to accuse him of stealing it afterwards. I also think he's the one that added the copied pages to Neal's punishment lines to try to get Neal in trouble," Peter added as he continued to explain.

"I'm interested; we will look further in to the incident. Check with Caffrey and see if he can explain any absence from his desk that would allow Thompson a window of opportunity with regards in planting his wallet or with the copying of his lines. I'm going to interview Lauren about her lunch date," ordered Hughes.

"She's waiting for you in my office, sir," added Peter as he headed back into the room to confront his partner.

As soon as Hughes left Peter turned to Neal who was now facing him and asked, "Are you okay? Did I get here in time?"

"Yeah, for the most part…fortunately he spent the first few minutes discussing why he felt he had to punish me; that he did review the evidence and saw no other action. He had only given me a few licks when you burst through the door…for which I want to thank you for," replied Neal. "I take it that you remembered something?"

"Yep…Jack told me that because of your theft he was forced to scrounge for change…loose change to pay for his meal yesterday and I wondered if that was true or something to make the theft seem even worse. I discovered that he had lied about that and that made me think that if that was a lie the accusation might be a lie as well," explained Peter.

"How did you find out that it was a lie?" asked Neal.

"I asked Jones if he knew where Jack went for lunch…and he didn't but he told me that he had asked Lauren out for a luncheon date and she had accepted. So I asked her and she told me that he had plenty of cash on hand and even his wallet; then I knew that the other had to be a set up," Peter hastened to explain. "All I needed to do was put the reason of doubt in Hughes mind and I knew he wouldn't continue with your punishment if he had any doubt of you being guilty."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"Find out why Jack did this to you for starters," replied Peter as he walked out of the supply room with Neal following closely behind. "You know I can't prove it but this feels like something Fowler would have approved…I wonder if he is working for Fowler."

"Maybe they thought that if I got into enough trouble with the FBI he could use it somehow to get me to give him the music box," Neal thought out loud.

"Could be…come on I see that Hughes has finished questioning Lauren about her lunch date; let's see what he has decided about you," Peter said as he started up the stairs to Hughes' office with Neal lagging behind.

"I'll wait downstairs at my desk…just in case he isn't convinced," cried Neal as he hurried to his desk and gingerly sat. The licks Hughes had given him had awakened the soreness of the spanking of the previous night.

Peter nodded suppressing the smile as he walked into his boss' office. "So have you changed your mind about Neal's guilt?"

Hughes nodded, "Yep, there would be no need to lie about not having money unless it was to make Caffrey look even worse. He told me the same thing when he came up to complain about the theft and I must admit he made me even madder at Caffrey. I want you to look into Jack and see what has made him do this to our art consultant. I take it that he was scared to accompany you just now?" he added dryly.

"Yep…scared that you are going to continue with your "discussion" so he decided to wait for me," replied Peter with a grin.

"Tell him that his butt is safe for the moment unless he does something stupid again…"

Peter looked down at Neal and realized that they had at their means the perfect way to check whether Jack had been tampering with him. "Sir, the surveillance camera…is it still trained on Neal's desk?"

Hughes looked at him in shock. They had both forgotten to check the surveillance tape. In the beginning it was their way supervising him and Peter had checked it often like he had his anklet although now with the trust factor being stronger Peter had forgotten all about the camera being there and apparently did Hughes.

"I'll have it checked immediately; if Jack appears then we will have the one responsible for some of Caffrey's pain," promised Hughes as he picked up his phone to request the tape.

After his discussion with Hughes; Peter returned to his office intending to catch Neal up on his conversation with Hughes when something caught his eye. It was in a stack of folders near his phone and he knew what it was at once…a bug. Someone had planted a bug in his office and he bet he knew who. He saw an opportunity to snare the person responsible for all of Neal's present troubles and decide to act at once.

As soon as Neal had noticed that Peter had returned to his office he hurried up to see what Hughes had to say about him and was shocked when Peter said, "I'm sorry Neal but Hughes has decided that you are too much trouble and is in the process of having you returned to prison,"

"Peter…NO! Please!" cried Neal in desperation as he saw his future go down the drain.

Once Peter was sure that Neal had made the right impression on the one listening he held up a hastily written note that said, "Bug...play along."

"Neal, with the pick pocketing you have been doing with no intention of stopping I just don't see how this consulting is going to be enough to keep you from returning to prison," Peter continued to play along for their uninvited guest.

"Peter, you can't be serious…I was framed…you've got to believe me," pleaded Neal.

"I don't know," replied Peter, "if there was some way I could be assured then maybe I could convince Hughes on giving you another chance…something you could give me to guarantee that I would be convincing enough to change Hughes' mind."

"I could give you a music box…an amber music box," Neal offered with a smile.

"Amber? I assumed that it is valuable?"

"Oh, yeah," replied Neal. "Where do you want to meet?"

"Some place public…what about the park near my house?"

"That will be fine…what about at noon today?"

"I'll be there and with that in my possession I can assure you that this whole incident will be forgotten," ended Peter as he quickly retrieved the bug and placed it in an evidence bag and took it from his office and to that of his boss, Hughes where he quickly filled him in on the little skit he and Caffrey had just performed so they could catch the rat who had planted it.

When he returned Neal said accusingly, "Why did you do that to me. You nearly gave me heart failure. You could have told me before you sprung that on me?"

"I wanted it to sound convincing," replied Peter as he teased his partner.

"Peter, I'm an accomplished con man I know how to fool people into believing anything I like," explained Neal indignantly.

"But your expression was priceless," teased Peter.

"What did Hughes say before you decided it would be fun to scare your art consultant nearly to death," asked Neal expectantly.

"Hughes wanted me to ask you if you were away from your coat at any time before you went to lunch. We are looking for a window of opportunity where Thompson could have slipped a wallet carrying his identification into your coat?"

"Yeah, just before lunch I went to the rest room and was gone about five minutes; I guess that would have been long enough to plant it and get away before I returned," replied Neal grimly. "And I was away from my desk several times while writing those lines where the same thing could have happened…do you think he's guilty of setting me up both times?" Neal asked Peter.

"Oh, yeah; but what I don't understand is why he was so hell-bent on condemning you to such a degree that he was willing to bet his career on it because if we can prove it he will be removed from this office; Hughes won't have an agent that is more interested in framing a partner than he is of solving crimes," Peter replied smugly. "Maybe Hughes can have him transferred to some hick location where he will be miserable."

"What did Hughes say about the bug you found?"

"That he will tend to the bug and find out where it came from…but at least now whoever it was that was bugging us will be in the dark on what happens next," replied Peter who paused before blurting out, "Neal, Hughes is also checking the surveillance camera to see if it shows Jack tampering with your desk or coat. Sorry we didn't check the camera earlier…it would have saved you some pain," apologize Peter.

"Surveillance camera? Peter what are you talking about?" asked Neal curiously.

"When you first joined us we thought it would be a bad thing to have a surveillance camera focused on your desk area just in case," explained Peter as Neal expression changed from confusion to hurt. "That was before we started to trust each other more; like when I was constantly checking your anklet. I only check your anklet occasionally now like when you are late and we want to be sure that you are safe," Peter hastened to explain.

"But now thanks to the surveillance camera we might have positive proof that Jack is the one responsible for planting his wallet in your coat and getting you in trouble with us and if not him then whomever is…so in the long run it is good that we had the foreknowledge to have it in the first place," replied Peter.

"You do care about me; I see that now…thanks Peter," replied Neal humbly. "So if it is Jack that is responsible what is going to happen next?"

"Hughes will have him transferred at the very least or fired at the most and maybe just maybe he can lead us to whomever is truly in charge because I can't believe that he is behind it all."

"We can only hope," replied Neal. "And I'm safe from further punishment?" Neal asked softly.

"Yep…but if you ever do another dumb stunt like this again Hughes will continue where he left off with prejudice," replied Peter with a smirk.

"Stupid? Are you talking about pranks or pick pocket?" asked Neal uncertain of what one Hughes was referring to.

"In your case? Both I would imagine," replied Peter seriously.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Peter, it is getting close to noon, shouldn't we get going?" asked Neal who was more than ready to get this over with and to get his life back.

Peter looked at his watch and agreed, "We need to get a bug on you so we can get further evidence on Thompson when he comes to confront you," as he picked up his phone and called for Jones to come up and perform the task. They had checked first to make sure that Thompson wasn't on the floor so not to alert him of their sting.

Jones came and handed Neal a belt, "Here take yours off and put this one on in its place…the bug is in the buckle."

"Neat…more of your James Bond devices," Neal said as he quickly changed.

"Now go to Anderson Park and wait for me and if we are lucky you will be just the bait we need to catch Thompson," Peter said with a smile.

"You'll be there, right?" asked Neal nervously.

"I'll be there," assured Peter and with that Neal left.

Neal had made good time and had was in place at noon to await Thompson but wasn't surprise to see both Thompson and Fowler approach his location about fifteen minutes later.

"Caffrey, you are past your two mile radius!" declared Fowler menacingly as he started to pull out his cuffs. "With your record this should be enough to put you back in prison for good."

Neal got up and looked around for Peter and not finding him here started to back up saying, "Peter knows where I am," but before he could continue Thompson had him in his grasp while Fowler cuffed the handcuffs tightly about his wrists.

"Search him!" ordered Fowler to Thompson who roughly did just that but finding nothing.

"Where is it Caffrey?"

"Where is what?"

"The music box; I know that you are supposed to meet Burke here and to hand it over to him in a ploy to keep you out of prison," Fowler said. "I want it!"

"I had that conversation with Peter in his office; how did you learn of it," bated Neal. He was going to get as much information he could to nail the both of them; he just hoped that Peter would arrive before things got ugly.

"Let's just say that we have other sources for our information and leave it at that," replied Fowler smugly as he nodded to Thompson who without warning stepped up and slugged Neal twice in the stomach.

"Now answer the question Caffrey; where is the music box?" repeated Fowler angrily; "or do you need Thompson to persuade you some more?"

"No, that won't be necessary; we got it all on tape!" boomed Peter's voice as he emerged with Jones, Cruz and other agents in tow.

Fowler turned around surprised at being taken once again and tried to bluff his way to freedom. "What are you doing here Burke? You are interfering in a sting OPR is running."

"Which is what? And why is Caffrey cuffed?" asked Peter not backing down.

"We had information that an exchange of stolen goods was going to take place here and that Caffrey was involved and when we found him here way out of his two mile boundary without reliable information on why so I arrested him," lied Fowler.

"Only you really didn't…arrest me, that is," Neal said, "I was never read my rights…you just cuffed me."

"Uncuff him!" ordered Peter firmly.

"You have no say over me and what I do, Burke," cried Fowler as he pulled Neal roughly, "I'm taking Caffrey with me!"

Peter blocked his move and it might have come to violence except that Hughes made an appearance and demanded,

"Release Caffrey immediately Fowler!" and he had no other reason but to do it and soon Neal was uncuffed and rubbing his wrists where the cuffs had bit in and had scurried over to Peter's side for safety.

"Thanks, Peter…did you get it all?"

"Yep."

"Get what?" asked Fowler curiously.

"Your conversation with Neal just now; you see he was wired. We know that it was either you are Thompson who planted the bug I found in my office this morning. I knew that any mention of the music box would draw you out and it did. We know that it was Jack that tried on two occasions to get Neal into trouble and possibly thrown back into prison…and don't try to deny it; we have you on tape for both of them," informed Peter as Thompson opened his mouth to argue.

Peter nodded to Jones who escorted Thompson to the car for the drive back to the office…Hughes would be having a long conversation with him about this and if he wasn't fired on the spot he most definitely would be reassigned elsewhere.

It just left Fowler, Hughes and him to talk things out and Peter said, "Neal why don't you go and visit with El while we straighten things out with Fowler. I know she is home this afternoon and would love a visit from you."

"How did things go?" asked Neal when Peter arrived back home about an hour later.

"As expected Fowler gave up Thompson whether than be taken down himself; I kind of think he made some type of deal with Thompson; for him to the blame…but the bottom line is that Fowler is gone for now and Thompson has been reassigned to the New Orleans Office. I understand that it is hot and humid down there and being a northern boy he should really enjoy the climate," added Peter sarcastically.

"Too bad Fowler couldn't experience a little of the same," said Neal regretfully.

"Yeah, but we take our victories where we can get them…at least your butt will be safe until you pull some bonehead stunt and get it back in hot water," Peter said with a smirk.

"Peter…I've learned my lesson…no more pranks at work," replied Neal emphatically.

"And pick pocketing ever?" added Peter.

Neal didn't reply as he tried to change the subject, "You need to try some of this BBQ that El bought."

"AND NO MORE PICKING POCKETS!" Peter replied.

"I'll try," replied Neal.

"You had better try real hard unless you want your butt to look like that BBQ," replied Peter cryptically.

"And how is that?"

"Red and hot!"

"PETER!"

**The End**


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